Republican Ashley Kalus airs first attack ad of 2022, blames McKee and Biden for inflation

PROVIDENCE — The first attack ad to hit Rhode Island TV in the '22 campaign season blames Democrats Dan McKee, the governor, and Joe Biden, the U.S. president, for inflation.

Taking a page out of the national GOP playbook, Republican candidate for governor Ashley Kalus — who moved to R.I. a little more than a year ago — makes that case in the latest in a series of virtually non-stop TV ads since spring,

More: McKee hits, GOP candidate Kalus deflects punch on her most admired pol, Ron DeSantis

The 30-second spot places photos of a laughing Biden and a dour McKee against a black and white background, and the words: "Career politicians and elites are failing us."

"Under Joe Biden & Dan McKee inflation is out of control. Rising food and gas prices are crushing R.I. families."

"But political outsider Ashley Kalus is the fighter with real world business experience to get Rhode Island back on track...make Rhode Island more affordable, suspend the gas tax, stop taxpayer funded developer bailouts and bonuses...and schools will focus on reading, writing and math."

More: RI says it cut ties with Kalus's COVID testing company after more than 100 complaints

With this new ad, that went up on July 21, Kalus has now spent close to $900,000 on non-stop TV advertising since spring.

Asked her rationale for blaming the president and governor — and McKee, in particular — for food and gas prices, Kalus told The Journal in an email:

“The policies being pushed by the Biden Administration... overheated the economy, crushed the energy sector, and crippled the supply chain resulting in skyrocketing inflation, soaring food costs, and out-of-control gas prices."

As for the governor, she said, McKee has had the "ability to offer the people of Rhode Island immediate relief," but "has yet to use the tools at his disposal to do so."

Her example: "The governor should suspend the Gas Tax...and call the General Assembly back into session to eliminate the Gross Receipts Tax on electricity as Rhode Islanders are now facing a 50 percent increase in their energy bills come October.”

In response, McKee campaign spokeswoman Alana O'Hare said: "Ashley Kalus continues to lie about Governor McKee and his record. The problem with her latest attack ad is it's simply false.

"The truth is, while Ashley Kalus was unpacking her moving truck from Florida, Governor McKee was hard at work addressing rising prices by eliminating the car tax, delivering a tax credit for families, investing in affordable housing, and investing in the Rhode Island economy."

When asked her own take on the ad, Brown University Prof. Wendy Schiller described it as "polished and on message from the national Republican perspective." 

"She is taking advantage of Biden's low approval ratings even among Democrats," Schiller said.

"But I wonder if this kind of ad would be effective against someone like Helena Foulkes if she gets the Democratic nomination for governor because she is also running as an outsider," she said.

"Observers should not underestimate the appeal of Kalus in a year that looks to be bad for incumbent Democrats. But this line of messaging will work differently depending on who wins the Democratic primary for governor."

Added Providence College Prof. Joseph Cammarano when asked for his view of the ad: "I get the impression that the script is generic, and will show up in similar forms and virtually every other state but only the names in a few visuals modified."

Kalus and her husband bought a single-family ranch on Narragansett Avenue in Newport for $770,000 on May 24, 2021. She registered to vote in Rhode Island, as a Republican, on Jan. 18, under her married name,  Ashley Weinzweig.

During that time period, a company she ran had a short-lived COVID testing and vaccination contract in Rhode Island that came to a bumpy end.

But the big-spending Kalus, 39, remains the state GOP's best hope of regaining the office it has not held since the Carcieri era ended under the cloud of 38 Studios more than a decade ago.

Another Republican has qualified for the GOP primary ballot, but without spending any money on ads or anything else in this race — or his 2018 bid for lieutenant governor in which he garnered 2.7% of the vote — Jonathan Riccitelli remains largely unknown.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI GOP's Ashley Kalus attack ad blames McKee, Biden for inflation